Staff updates

Meet the new assistant executive directors for Government Relations and Graduate and Postgraduate Education and Training.

Garth A. Fowler joins APA

Garth A. Fowler, PhD, joined APA in May 2012 as the associate executive director of the Education Directorate and the director of the Office of Graduate and Postgraduate Education. He received his BA in psychology from the College of Wooster and his PhD in behavioral neuroscience from the Psychology Department at the University of Washington (Seattle). After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., he moved to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Science magazine in 2005, where he served as the outreach program manager for Science Careers, the online career component of science. He joined Northwestern University’s faculty in 2007 as the assistant chair in the Department of Neurobiology and the director of the master’s in science program.

Throughout his career, Garth has been active in the career and professional development at the graduate and postgraduate level.

He is currently completing his fourth year as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Postdoctoral Association and has served as development officer, vice chair of the board and finance officer. He has served as a consultant for universities and research institutions on developing training grants for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and in implementing individual development plans for young scientists. He has twice served as a panelist for the National Academies of Science: in 2010 for the Committee on Research Universities, and in 2011 for the Committee on the State of the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers.

Karen Studewell is the new associate director of ED GRO

Karen Studwell, JD, is the associate executive director of government relations for the Education Directorate. Before joining the Education Directorate, she had worked for 12 years in the Science Directorate as a senior legislative and federal affairs officer. She leads APA’s federal advocacy agenda for graduate psychology education and training, focusing primarily on expanding federal support for programs within the Health Resources and Services Administration. An experienced appropriations lobbyist, she came to APA after representing voluntary health agencies and medical societies on a variety of health policy goals, including improving access to clinical trials and expanding stem cell research, as well as increasing federal investments in health research.

Karen has been recognized for her work by both APA, which honored her with the Employee Service Award in 2004, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, which awarded her for distinguished service on behalf of social-personality psychology. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio University and her law degree from Seattle University.